Chili con cocoa

The pumpkin chili I made a while ago got me thinking about how much more versatile chili is than you might think. When I came across this recipe, which adds cocoa to the mix, I wanted to give it a try. I made a few alterations here and there, but the original recipe comes from Hershey’s Kitchens. I figure if I’m gonna trust someone when it comes to chocolate, I couldn’t pick a better name than Hershey, right?

But to be honest, this is really just an okay chili. You don’t actually get the chocolate flavor until the end of each bite. It’s kind of an afterthought, but when it comes across your palate, it’s a little too much. A little too bitter. Maybe if I’d just added the cocoa powder or the dark chocolate, it would have been better. I was hoping it would just give it a nice deep flavor. Or maybe it’s just a personal taste thing, but we just weren’t crazy about it.

I do add cocoa to my chili too but with some sugar to cut the bitterness. Then it has a nice balance of flavor! Or I add Mexican Chocolate to my chili:
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup sugar- I used unrefined
1 T. cinnamon
1/2 – 1 t. cayenne pepper
Process all ingredients in a food processor until chopped fine and well blended. Store in an airtight container. Use in chili about 2 T. per 1.5 pounds of beef or to taste!

This sounds an awful lot like Cincinnati chili only perhaps not as good. You should check at your grocery store sometime in the sauce isle for a packet of Cincinnati Chili or Skyline mix. You’ll be very pleased.